This would be my Monday blog, but I'm posting it sooner because the election is a little over a week away and some voters are voting early by mail.
Measures 45, 46, 47, and 48 are the "Peoples' Propositions." These four were put on the ballot by motivated citizens who walked the walk, talked the talk, and collected signatures to get them on the ballot.
Measures 45 and 46 are opposed by Insurance companies and medical organizations with deep pockets that want them defeated. So there are a lot of ads on TV against them. Don't fall for the NO ads.
Proposition 45 "Requires Insurance Commissioner's approval before health insurer can change its rates . . . " There's a No on 45 commercial where the woman says, "Treatment decisions should be between Doctors and patients . . ." and not by a politician. That politician is the Insurance Commissioner, who regulates rates and coverage for ALL OTHER kinds of insurance in California.
I agree with the woman in the commercial. Treatment decisions should be between Doctors and patients, and NOT by an insurance company that decides what they are willing to cover and how much they are willing to pay. VOTE YES on 45.
The Pack family was largely responsible for putting Measure 46 on the ballot. They didn't want anyone else to suffer their loss. I don't know the Packs personally, but I am a friend of April Rovero, who was President of the San Ramon Valley Soroptimists when I was a member ten years ago,
April lost her son Joey to a prescription drug overdose when he was a student at Arizona State University. Here's a link to April's testimony before a Congressional Committee in 2011 as Founder/President of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse.
Doctors abuse prescription medicines, not only by improperly prescribing them like Joey's case, but also by taking them while on the job. This is a serious and known problem in the medical community. So Vote YES on 46. You never think this could happen to you until it happens.
Measure 47 is almost invisible. There are no ads for or against it. So what is it and why do I want you to vote YES?
Proposition 47 would "Require misdemeanor sentence instead of felony for certain drug and property offenses." This would not apply to anyone with prior conviction for a serious or violent crime. This would potentially save the State millions of dollars every year, and remove the stigma of a felony charge for what should be treated as a less serious offense.
The last of these four measures, Proposition 48, would allow Indian gaming off reservation land. This sets a bad precedent which could result in the Nevadafication (my own word) of California. According to the 500 Nations website, "Today 62 of the 109 California tribes own 68 casinos including 50 Indian casinos, 15 Indian casino resorts and 3 mini-casinos. These casinos host 63,835 total slot machines."
Look at the map of California from the link above. Do we need MORE casinos off the reservations now? Senator Diane Feinstein says "NO," and so do I. Vote NO on 48.